Theomancer
"Though Mankind is at the brink of this great apotheosis, you must be ever vigilant for the stillborn harbingers of this change. Where you seek the pure and strong, there too will you find the impure and weak. But be ever vigilant, for even should you find one with the gift, only one in a thousand psykers will be strong enough to resist the perils of the Empyrean and be allowed to live." –Admonitions on the Duty of the Witch Finder, Inquisitor Malich (Suppressed, M38) Theomancy has its roots in the disciplines of soothsaying common amongst the Feral worlds in the Calixis Sector. Ancient practitioners of this art would use crude objects such as chicken bones and dice in the hope of a glimpse of the future. As the Ecclesiarchy's influence spread with the Angevin Crusade, these practices were more and more seen as counter to the Imperial Creed. Those who attempted to use these skills were hunted down as heretics. The practice was eventually replaced by the reading of the Emperor's Tarot. The Collegiate Exterminatus began training psykers to aid Inquisitors with divination from the Drusian Emperor's Tarot; which includes the Shattered World, the Chalice, and the Tyrant Star among its portents. While the debate on what these symbols represent is ongoing within the Calixian Scholastica Psykana Divinatio, it is generally accepted that the Shattered World represents war when aligned normally and the end of a war when inverted. The Chalice is seen to represent life, but also death, or even the Calixis Sector as a whole. The Tyrant Star is the card that is most often debated within the Calixian sector. Many scholars believe that it was never part of the original design of the Tarot, but nonetheless it appears in the current version. Many Inquisitors employ Theomancers to help them learn about the nature of upcoming threats. When Artemis Thoth, a psyker in the service of Inquisitor Lord Caidin, performed a reading regarding the outcome of the Tranch Insurrection, the seven portents he received included signs that rendered the diviner catatonic for nearly six months. Upon his recovery he could speak only to Lord Inquisitor Caidin. It is unknown what transpired there, but a cell of Caidin's most trusted Acolytes was immediately dispatched to locate Justicar Maligante and beg his assistance on the world of Kulth. The Tarot itself is a closely guarded mystery. It is impossible to tell what the Emperor's Tarot actually is. Some have even claimed that no such object actually exists and that the Psyker is simply a charlatan. If that were true the frequency of their correct predictions would, at least, be a statistical anomaly of miraculous proportions. So potent is the Theomancer's powers of prediction, that there are some within the Ecclesiarchy who view their powers as so heretical that there can be no true sanction of the practice. Some go so far as to hire assassins to discreetly deal with Theomancers. 'Alternate Career Rank' A Theomancer is usually drawn from the ranks of the Calixis Scholastica Psykana Divinatio. Using the skills learned during the sanctioning process, combined with the formidable schooling of the Inquisition, the Theomancer becomes a potent weapon in the Calixian Ordo Malleus' arsenal. The Theomancer is able to use his skills at Divination to augment his combat skills in a much more fluid manner than the typical Imperial Psyker. He can see glimpses of the future and choose the correct path for his Inquisitor to follow. Required Career: Imperial Psyker Alternate Rank: Rank 4 or higher (2,000 XP) Other Requirements: At least one Psychic Power from the Divination Discipline.